Chilean volcano - Lightning tears the
sky apart above the glow of the
volcano
Beginning 6th June 2011
There are four volcanoes in the chain,
but it was unclear which one has
erupted because of the ash cover and
weather conditions. The chain last saw
a major eruption in 1960.
Scale: The plume of ash has reached as
far as the Atlantic thanks to winds
blowing it towards Buenos Aires
The Situation
• Flames reach up to the heavens as lightning
flashes criss-cross the sky. These extraordinary
images show the full force of Mother Nature as
a Chilean volcano erupts for the first time in 50
years. Ash has been thrown six miles up into
the sky and the South American government has
ordered the evacuation of thousands of
residents. Winds fanned the ash toward
neighbouring Argentina, darkening the sky in
the ski resort city of San Carlos de Bariloche, in
the centre of the country, and its airport has
also been closed.
A time-lapse photo shows lightning bolts striking
around the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain
Lightning and volcanic fire is seen amid
and underneath a towering cloud of ash.
An extraordinary cloud formation is created by the
ash rising several miles into the atmosphere
• The eruption in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle
volcanic chain, about 575 miles south of the
capital, Santiago, also prompted authorities to
close a busy border crossing into Argentina. It
was not immediately clear which of the chain's
four volcanoes had erupted because of ash cover
and weather conditions. The chain last saw a
major eruption in 1960. Local media said the
smell of sulphur hung in the air and there was
constant seismic activity. 'The Cordon Caulle
(volcanic range) has entered an eruptive process,
with an explosion resulting in a 10-kilometre-high
gas column,' the state emergency office ONEMI
said. As a precaution, the government said it was
evacuating 3,500 people from the surrounding
area.
• This development is the latest volcanic activity
to affect the country. Three years ago, Chile's
Chaiten volcano erupted spectacularly for the
first time in thousands of years, spewing molten
rock and a vast cloud of ash that reached the
stratosphere and was visible from space. It also
drifted over neighbouring Argentina, coating
towns. Chile's Llaima volcano, one of South
America's most active, also erupted that year
and again in 2009. Chile's chain of about 2,000
volcanoes is the world's second largest after
Indonesia. Some 50 to 60 are on record as
having erupted, and 500 are potentially active.
Lake covered with ash
A view of the 9th hole green at the Llao
Llao hotel golf course in Bariloche.
A woman wipes a thick layer of volcanic
ash away from the windscreen of her car
Headlights on, a car creeps through a
street covered in ash.
• It was the latest in a series of volcanic eruptions
in Chile in recent years. Chile's Chaiten volcano
erupted spectacularly in 2008 for the first time in
thousands of years, spewing molten rock and a
vast cloud of ash that reached the stratosphere.
The ash also swelled a nearby river and ravaged a
nearby town of the same name. The ash cloud
from Chaiten coated towns in Argentina and was
visible from space. Chile's Llaima volcano, one of
South America's most active, erupted in 2008 and
2009. Chile's chain of about 2,000 volcanoes is
the world's second largest after Indonesia. Some
50 to 60 are on record as having erupted, and 500
are potentially active.
Carrying bottles of water and soft drinks this
man wears a gas mask to avoid breathing in ash
Streams clogged with ash may flood
Ski resort shut down
woman evacuated from the village of Rininahue
Pastoralist herding his cattle way from
Rininahue
Soldiers in the village of Rininahue.
Beauty amid the horror